LIWAYWAY: A Glimpse of Dawn for a Brighter Future
Feature | Clarissa Torio
The UP Pre-Medical Society (UP PMS), in its 64 years of existence, had continuously shared its advocacy of serving the most vulnerable sectors of our society through its different outreach programs and initiatives. Made possible with its hardworking and dedicated members, coming from a diversity of degree programs, they have collaborated to share their talents in pursuing their advocacies for the holistic development of the Filipino community.
More than ever, the UP PMS continues to extend its relief to many Filipinos in this time of pandemic through the provision of resources and goods that are greatly needed, especially with the heightened cases of illness and unemployment. In line with this, healthcare workers are facing great risk in the front lines as they do their best to combat the COVID-19 disease and its liability to the lives of many. To further inspire the youth to pursue a career in the medical field and see the importance of its various specializations, the UP PMS will host a two-day medical convention with the theme, LIWAYWAY: Medical Convention 2021, a glimpse of the dawn of a brighter future in medicine, targeted to cater pre-med and medical students alike.
With the constraints of the pandemic, UP PMS takes this year’s MedCon to the next level by holding this enriching event online — much safer and more accessible for audiences coming from various places and regions. They have launched a Facebook page where they will post updates and a constant stream of MedCon content throughout the duration of the event. To add, they have also released their cute and witty stickers merchandise to surely motivate the MD in you, and 100% of each transaction will help fund UP PMS’ provision of instructional health kits to underserved communities, truly an action in line with their advocacy to give back, and give life.
LIWAYWAY: Medical Convention 2021 will culminate in a panel webinar to feature renowned speakers coming from a variety of equally-important medical fields — from medical students to general practitioners, as well as specialized physicians — as they share their experiences and advice to the next generation of medical professionals. Through this, the two-day Panel Webinar will further motivate the youth aiming for residency to see what’s in store for them in the field.
Included in its roster of renowned speakers is Dr. Gerardo “Gap” Legaspi, the current director of the Philippine General Hospital who is known for being the first official recipient of a COVID-19 vaccine in the Philippines. Alongside him will be Dr. Winston Kilimanjaro Creones Ayochok Tiwaquen, popularly known as “Dr. Kilimanjaro” or “Dr. Char,” who, aside from being a medical doctor, is also a TikTok star known for sharing fun yet informative health trivia and advice on his platform with more than 1 million followers. Another invited speaker is Dr. Rome T. Romero, known as “Doc Rome” in his YouTube channel, who shares his day-to-day experiences as a urologist in the form of vlogs with thousands of viewers and subscribers. Also included in the panel are Dr. Renzo Guinto, Marvin Natural, Dr. Junjie Arapan, Dr. Francis Dimalanta, Dr. Jun Robbie Galicia, and Dr. Maria Minerva Calimag. Surely, this event is something worth waiting for! More than ever, we need to inspire the future generation of medical practitioners and healthcare workers as they play an essential part in the growth and development of our society.
